


Lateral Hazard

by trytomakemestay



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - High School, Angst, Child Abuse, Homophobia, M/M, country club au, golf au, im letting you in on my secrets, just a warning for now, those are much later though
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-01-01
Updated: 2013-09-25
Packaged: 2017-12-03 16:11:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 18,933
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/700134
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/trytomakemestay/pseuds/trytomakemestay
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For Harry Styles, golf was easy. Line up the club, pay attention to the curves of the ground, and don’t forget about the wind. He understood the game and the world he would never really belong in, no matter how good he was. Harry had everything planned out until he met Louis Tomlinson, who he just can’t seem to figure out.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first work I've ever posted and I honestly can't believe I'm doing this.  
> I guess this is the part where I inform you that, much to my dismay, I made this story up. I'm not affiliated with One Direction. If you guys want to talk to me or anything you can find me on tumblr. My url is also trytomakemestay :)

Harry jolted awake to a banging upstairs.

“Wake up, Harry! You can’t be late for your first day of work,” his mother called down the stairs. Harry had taken the basement room after his sister had left for university. He liked the privacy of his own floor, the sliding door he could sneak out of was just another perk. Harry rolled out of bed and got dressed in his polo and khakis. He checked his appearance in the mirror and sighed at his always messy curls.

Today was his first day of work at Oakwood Country Club, the most prestigious golf club in the London area. His best friend Niall had convinced him to apply for the job after he lost his golfing privileges at Finchley. He’d been lucky to get to practice there for as long as he did after his mum dumped the pro there a few months ago. Oakwood was the home of one of the biggest amateur tournaments in England, the Oakwood Cup, for which Harry was finally old enough to qualify. Working there meant that Harry could practice on one of the best courses in the country. 

Harry knew what the job would entail; bratty kids and pretentious adults were a part of the job description. He was used to it by now, how could he not be? He’d played golf for as long as he could remember. Most of the people he encountered through the years had been pleasant with a few exceptions. Harry had learned just to keep a low profile.

“Harry, seriously sweetie, hurry up,” His mother called again.

“Coming!” Harry said and grabbed his white Titleist hate. He made his way upstairs and into the kitchen.

“There’s some cereal in the cabinet,” his mother said. Harry grabbed the box and a bowl and sat down at the table.

“Dammit,” Harry cursed.

“Forget something?” Anne handed him the carton of milk along with a glass.

“Thanks, mum. What would I do without you?” said Harry.

She rolled her eyes, “Probably starve or get hit by a bus.”

“Most likely,” Harry chuckles.

“Are you nervous for your first day?” she asked.

Harry thought about that for a second. He wasn’t exactly sure what he would be doing at Oakwood today. When he applied they had told him that he would help coach children, caddy, and work in the pro shop. Basically, they would put him where ever he was needed on a given day, which was fine by Harry as long as he got to play. He had been to many different country clubs through the years for junior tournaments and general practice but he had never been to Oakwood, despite the fact that it was only a short walk from his house. Playing at Oakwood was exclusive to members and their guests. Harry didn’t know anyone near his age who belonged to Oakwood, most of them go to Oakwood Prep, which, of course, Harry could never afford.

Harry’s mother was a receptionist at a law firm, a job she wasn’t fond of but paid the bills nonetheless. He’s not poor by the world’s standards but to the people of Oakwood, he might as well be a character from Les Miserables. Golf was an expensive sport but somehow they got by and Harry would be eternally grateful for his mother’s efforts to keep his dream alive. 

“Harry?” his mother pressed.

“I think I’ll be alright,” Harry smiled.

“I know you will. Eat up!” Harry finished his bowl, downing the last bit of milk. He grabbed his golf bag just in case he had time to play and was out the door.

***

Simon, the golf pro at Oakwood, had Harry working the children’s clinic with Niall. There were about thirty kids signed up for each, entirely too many for one pro to handle. Harry had gotten there early so Niall could show him around and he’s never seen a course as nice as this one. Everything was grand from the exterior of the clubhouse to inside the restrooms. The grass was literally greener. 

The first group of kids they were working with were from ages five to seven and most could hardly hold a club. This was more glorified babysitting than coaching. The children were lined up at the driving range, all with miniature drivers in hand.

“Oi! Watch it Will,” Niall yelled. Harry looked over to see a small boy, who must have been Will, nearly hit a young girl with a club.

“Why don’t you spread out a little more, guys,” Harry got the kids to scoot down a little further, giving all of them more space.

“Thanks, Harry,” said Niall. 

Harry had met Niall a few years ago, when he had moved to London from a small town in Ireland. Although the blond boy was a year ahead of him in school, the two had become fast friends over their mutual love for golf. Harry was lucky to have Niall because otherwise he’d be completely alone as a working class kid spending all his time at country clubs. It was nice to have someone else who understood him.

Both Harry and Niall were nationally ranked in Junior golf but neither had played in any tournaments big enough to warrant any sponsorships. Hopefully, the Oakwood Cup would earn them some recognition in the golfing community and maybe, if they’re lucky, an invite to the British Masters. Harry was ready to throw everything he had into this tournament because it was his chance to show the world he was capable of becoming a professional golfer. It was his chance to finally reap the benefits of all of his hard work over all these years.

The rest of the clinic went by uneventfully besides a couple of kids actually knocking the ball a few meters away from the tee. The clinic, may have been boring but Harry couldn’t really complain. The whole thing only lasted a little over an hour and a half and he had the rest of the day to play.

“Hey mate, I’m gonna go the restroom real quick, do ya mind getting out bags so we can go play?” Niall asked.

“Yeah sure.” Harry replied. He made his way back to the clubhouse. They had left their bags over in the employee office, which was more of a closet than anything. He fumbled with his keys and opened the door. He grabbed his bag and threw it over his shoulders and took Niall’s in his hands. He double-checked to make sure nothing had fallen out and walked back out to find his friend.

Harry was searching for Niall when he saw him. Tan and lean with light brown fringe, the boy was clad in bright red chinos rolled up at the ankles and a striped polo. Harry almost didn’t notice Niall walk up next to him, “You ready to go?”

“Who is that?” Harry asked.

“Who?” Niall looked up and bit his lip to hide his smile, “That’s Louis Tomlinson.”

Harry had heard of Louis Tomlinson, everyone in the Oakwood area had. He was practically royalty around here. Well, royal like Prince Harry because everywhere he went there was scandal. Louis’s father was Mark Tomlinson, the head of Tomlinson Airline and Louis was the heir to his father’s company. He had a bad reputation for partying and getting into trouble. He was your stereotypical kid with too much money and not enough parental supervision.

“Oh,” was all Harry could get out.

“Your first day on the job and you’ve already got your eye on one of the members. For Christ’s sake, Harry,” Niall laughed.

“I don’t have-” Harry trailed off as he watched the other boy take off his aviators.

When Harry’s eyes met with Louis’s, he saw a flicker of something which quickly disappeared. The older boy smirked and Harry turned back to Niall, trying to remember what he was doing here in the first place.


	2. Chapter One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here's the first real chapter. I'm still not really sure why I'm doing this. I hope you enjoy :)

“Oh c’mon. It wasn’t that bad,” Niall insisted.

“I haven’t shot that bad since I was, like, 12,” Harry groaned.

To be fair, it was the first time he’d played at Oakwood and the course was significantly more challenging than Finchley. Plus, he hadn’t played in nearly two weeks, the longest he’s gone without golf in years. Still, shooting four over par was rare for Harry, even at a new course. 

Harry just wasn’t focused. Images of the tan boy with deep blue eyes plagued his mind. He tried his best to shake Louis from his mind with little success. He was definitely intrigued by the boy surrounded in scandal.

“You’ll get use to the course and then you’ll be back to kicking my arse, just like old times,” said Niall.

“We’ll see about that,” Harry laughed.

“Liam! Zayn!” Niall called to two boys walking towards them. The first was broad with short brown hair and chocolate brown eyes. The other was darker with black hair, styled nicely in a quiff and ridiculously long eyelashes. The first had his arm rested on the other’s shoulder.

“Hey, Niall,” said the short-haired one, “Who’s this?” He gestured towards Harry.

“Liam, Zayn, this is Harry. He’s my best mate from school. He’s working here now,” Niall said.

“Oh,” said the second one, who must be Zayn, eyeing Harry up and down.

Harry tried to say something but nothing came out. He could actually feel the two country club boys judging him. He wasn’t very good with people. Harry had always been so focused on golf that he never really made a whole bunch of friends, especially not stuck-up rich kids who looked down on the people working for them.

Liam broke the awkward silence, “So Niall, want to come up to the pool with us? Louis’s up there with a couple others. Should be fun. Oh and Harry, you can come to, I guess.”

Harry’s ears perked up at the sound of Louis’s name.

“I’d love to but I don’t have a suit with me,” Niall sighed.

“We can grab some from my place,” Harry said a little to eager, considering Liam and Zayn clearly didn’t like him.

“Harry lives right outside the club. So we can be back in about half an hour, sound good to you guys?” Niall asked.

“Yeah sounds good. We were going to grab something to eat real quick at the snack bar first anyway. See you in a bit,” said Liam.

“See ya,” Niall said.

***

“They don’t hate you, Harry. They invited you to go to the pool with them!” Niall insisted. They were at Harry’s place searching through the drawers for Harry’s swim trunks.

“Only as an afterthought because they would’ve looked like right wankers if they had just ignored my presence,” Harry argued.

“They’ll warm up to you. They were the same way when they first met me last summer. Trust me, once you come out of your shell, they’ll love your charm,” said Niall.

“You’re much better with people than I am though. Everyone loves you,” Harry said.

“First of all, that isn’t true. Remember that one guy from that tournament last summer that threatened to beat the shit out of me?” Niall asked.

“You accidentally hit him with a golf club. Of course he wanted to attack you. I wanted to attack you,” said Harry.

“Whatever, that doesn’t even matter. The point is they are going to love you once they get to know you. I know you and I know them. You’re going to be friends, I just know it. Give them a chance,” said Niall.

“Give them a chance? They need to give me a chance!” said Harry.

“They did give you a chance. They invited you to hang out with them at the pool!” Niall said, exasperated. 

“We already went over this. They had to invite me,” Harry said. He opened up a drawer and found two pairs of swim trunks, “Found some.”

“Good, so now we can get back to the pool, where you are going to be on your best behavior,” Niall instructed.

“I’m not going to be a dick or anything, if that’s what you’re implying,” said Harry.

“That wasn’t what I was saying at all,” Niall smiled mischievously.

“Then what are you trying to say?” Harry asked.

“Don’t act like I don’t know why you actually want to go to the pool,” Niall raised his eyebrows suggestively.

“I have no idea what your talking about. I don’t even want to go,” Harry lied.

Niall didn’t buy it, “Sure you don’t. You didn’t volunteer we come back here and grab some swim trunks or anything.”

“My house is closer and I figured I might as well try to get along with these people if I’m going to be spending the summer with them,” Harry said.

“And the mention of Louis Tomlinson had nothing to do with it? Okay, Harry. Whatever you say,” Niall replied sarcastically. 

“Whatever. Let’s go, we said we’d be there soon.”

***

When they got to the pool nearly half an hour later(Niall had insisted that they eat something first), Harry’s eyes immediately found Louis. He was holding court with a couple of kids about their age, including Liam and Zayn. They were all laughing at something he said when Niall and Harry approached.

Liam stopped the group and introduced them, “Hey guys, you know Niall. And this is friend Harry. He works here.”

Harry didn’t like how Liam added in the little blurb about him being an employee but he let it slide.

“Harry, this is Josh, Stan, Hannah, Caroline, and Louis,” Liam said, not bothering to point out which one was which.

Harry nodded, trying not to stare at Louis. They all sat down sideways on the adjustable lawn chairs, facing each other.

“So have you guys been? Haven’t seen mucha you since last summer,” Niall said.

“Pretty much what we do every year. School, football, occasional tennis match, parties, you know, normal stuff. What about you?” asked Zayn.

“Golf, golf, and more golf. Harry and I don’t do much of anything else, right Harry?” said Niall.

“Erm-yeah,” was all Harry could manage, still hyper-aware of the blue-eyed boy across from him. 

“Have you guys seen the new girl working at the snack bar? She’s fit,” asked a short boy with broad shoulders. 

“Didn’t notice her,” said Zayn.

“Wouldn’t expect you to,” the boy joked. Harry furrowed his brows in confusion.

Zayn’s eyes flashed with annoyance, “Shut up, Josh.”

So the stocky boy’s name was Josh. So the other, thicker boy must be Stan. 

“Niall, you and Harry should go talk to her,” Louis said. His voice was soft and soothing but his tone was slightly patronizing. Still, Harry thought he could listen to him speak forever and not get sick of it.

“We’ll check her out later, if I get hungry,” Niall said before Harry could even think to formulate a response.

“If you get hungry? Aren’t you hungry now?” Liam laughed.

“Just ate at Harry’s,” Niall explained.

“Gotcha,” Liam said, “So you boys working here all summer?”

“Yeah, guess we have to if we wanna play here. Harry here is gonna win the Oakwood Cup,” Niall stated proudly, causing Harry to turn bright red.

“Is he now?” Louis said eyeing Harry up and down. Louis’s scrutiny made Harry’s cheeks flush even brighter.

“No, I’m not,” Harry shook his head and looked down to avoid Louis’s glance.

“I don’t know much about golf but I do know that kids don’t usually win the cup,” Louis said skeptically, “Especially non-members.”

Harry didn’t like the way Louis said “non-members.” Louis might be beautiful, but the kid was kind of a stuck-up jerk. Harry silently cursed himself for being attracted to, yet another, douche bag.

“Yeah, well Harry’s a hell of a lot better than most kids his age,” Niall said brightly, obviously oblivious to Louis’s jabs.

“How old are you anyway, Harry? Like fifteen?” Louis said, this time directly towards him and Harry had no choice but to look him in the eyes.

“Sixteen,” Harry corrected, trying to sound as confident as possible.

“You have to be sixteen to play in the cup so this is Harry’s first year,” Niall explained.

“Right,” was all Louis said.

***

“God Harry, you seriously suck at this game,” Niall said as he put the controller down.

“You only beat me by 3 goals this time!” said Harry.

“I wasn't even trying,” Niall said.

“You’re not capable of not trying. You’re too competitive,” Harry chuckled.

“True, but still you’ve never beaten me before in Fifa, which is pretty pathetic considering how many times we’ve played,” Niall said. He had invited himself over earlier, after they left the pool. He was lucky that Anne liked him because the boy spent more night’s at Harry’s than at his own house.

“No one cares about Fifa. There are more important things in the world,” Harry fought back.

“I don’t think listening to music on your laptop and watching bad reality shows with your mum count as ‘more important things,’” Niall said, making quotation marks in the air with his fingers, “But anyway, you should play Zayn. He’s more your speed,” 

“Zayn and all of his friends don’t like me so I don’t think that’s going to happen,” said Harry.

“They do like you! They just aren’t very open to new people,” Niall said.

“No, they aren’t open to people who aren’t country club brats,” said Harry.

“They aren’t like that! They like me. They just are really wary of who they keep around. Once they learn that you’re trustworthy, they’ll love you,” Niall said earnestly.

Harry considered that for a second, “Okay, well maybe you’re right and Zayn and Liam are going to warm up to me, it’s still pretty obvious that Louis hates me.”

Niall was quiet for a second, “I wouldn’t say ‘hate’.” 

“Okay but you have to admit he clearly doesn’t like me,” Harry pressed.

“No,” Niall said, sitting up a little, “I think he will warm up to you too. Zayn told me he’s been having a rough time lately. I don’t know any details but trust me, he’s cool. And funny as hell.”

“A rough time? What, did his dad buy him the wrong coloured Range Rover?” Harry huffed.

“You know, for someone who gets so upset over people judging him, you’re pretty quick to judge others,” Niall’s tone was serious and Harry realized that he was being a dick. 

“Sorry, it’s just- back at Finchley- you know what happened,” Harry mumbled.

“Actually, I have no idea what really happened. You would never tell me,” Niall’s tone wasn’t pressing, he knew that Harry didn’t want to relive those particular memories. 

“Sorry...again,” Harry sighed and checked his phone, “It’s getting late. We should probably go to bed. We have to work tomorrow.”

***

The following day, Simon had Harry and Niall caddy for a group of men, who appeared to be in their mid thirties, with the help of another caddy named Nick. Overall, Harry much preferred to caddy over helping with children’s clinics. When he was caddying, he could really scope out the course. He could memorize every hill and sand trap. Plus, he could hang out with Niall and Nick was a laugh. The men they caddied for today were much more pleasant than Harry had expected, a nice surprise. Although they mostly talked business with each other, they did try to include Harry, Niall, and Nick in their conversations.

“Thanks again!” said Mr. Calloway, the most outgoing man of their group, as they arrived back at the clubhouse after they finished their eighteen holes. 

“Our pleasure,” Harry and Niall said together and Nick rolled his eyes at them after the men had left.

“You boys are nauseatingly polite. I thought I was going to puke in the seventeenth hole when Harry apologized forty-seven times for not handing the club to Mr. Vincent quick enough,” Nick joked.

“I want to make a good impression,” Harry shrugged.

Niall pulled out his phone, “Looks like we don’t have enough time to play before it gets dark. How about we hit the driving range instead?”

“I have to get going,” said Nick, “I have dinner plans.”

“With what?” Niall said, laughing at his own joke.

“Funny Nialler, at least I can get a date. Meanwhile, you’re off stalking the new girl,” Nick jabbed.

“I’m not stalking her,” Niall said.

“Just watching her from afar, learning little things about her, without ever speaking to her. Not stalking at all,” Nick said, causing Harry to burst into laughter, “But really, I do need to go. See you lads tomorrow!”

They waved Nick off and walked towards the employee office to get their clubs.

“I’ve got to go to the restroom real quick. I meet you back here, alright?” Harry said and Niall just nodded.

He decided that the restroom in the mens’ locker room was the closest so he went there. When he opened the door he walked straight into someone, causing him to knock his head against the other boy’s.

“Watch it!” said a familiar voice. Standing before him was none other than Louis Tomlinson. 

Of course it was. That’s how Harry’s life worked.

“Sorry, that was my fault. I should have looked where I was going,” Harry apologized.

“What are you even doing in here?” Louis snapped, straightening up.

Harry tried his best not to roll his eyes, “Using the restroom. We’re allowed to do that, you know.”

Louis simply huffed.

“What’s your problem?” Harry asked, surprising himself with his own outburst of courage.

“I don’t have a problem,” Louis said quietly, looking away.

“Oh really? Because you’ve been a jerk to me ever since I’ve gotten here and I’ve done absolutely nothing to offend you,” Harry was on a roll.

Louis returned his gaze at Harry and studied him for a second before pushing past him and walking out the door.

Louis Tomlinson has got to be the most frustrating boy to ever walk the planet.

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and suggestions are welcome! I'd love to hear what you guys think.


	3. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Okay so here's the second chapter. Tell me what you think!

The next couple of days were relatively uneventful and that was absolutely, definitely, a hundred percent, not due to the fact that Harry had not seen Louis since they ran into each other in the locker room. Harry and Niall had spent the majority of their days caddying and helping with clinics and they used any free time to play golf. Harry could feel himself getting back into the swing of things. After only one week, he was shooting around par. 

Not good enough to win the Cup but better.

Harry tried not to think about the blue-eyed boy. He really did. But Louis was like an infection of the mind. For God knows what reason, Harry can’t shake the boy from his thoughts and it was slowly driving him insane.

Simon approached them after they were finishing up work on Friday, “Hey boys, I’d like for you to come to the Summer kickoff dinner tomorrow night. As guests, of course. I think it would be a good time for you boys to get to know some of the members here. ”

Before Harry could protest, Niall spoke up, “Sounds great! We’ll be there.”

Harry could kick him.

“Wear a sport coat and a tie,” Simon instructed before he walked away.

“What the fuck, dude?” Harry elbowed Niall as soon as Simon was out of earshot.

Niall’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion, “It’ll be fun!”

“It’s just going to be a bunch of members sitting around gossiping!” Harry said, exasperated.

Niall shook his head, “No, I went least year and it’s pretty chill. All of the kids our age come, well, mostly because their parents make them, but whatever. There’s free food and drinks! Plus, they don’t care if your underage.”

“I don’t care about that. It still sounds awful,” Harry said.

“But Zayn, Liam, Louis, and everyone will be there!” Niall argued.

Louis.

“Is that supposed to make me want to go?” Harry asked, unconvincingly.

Niall shook his head again, “I know you want to see him. Don’t lie to me.”

Harry groaned, “You’re impossible.”

Niall just laughed, “We pretty much have to go, you know that?”

“Yeah, I know,” Harry sighed.

***

They played golf Saturday morning. Harry didn’t play well and he tried to convince himself that it had nothing to do with the fact that he was nervous for that night.

He had no reason to be nervous.

Harry needed more time to practice and he couldn’t quite figure out how that was going to be possible considering how much time he spent working, not to mention the probable rainy days in the future.

Harry showered and got dressed back at his house. He decided on a blue and white striped bow tie and a blue blazer with khaki trousers (okay, maybe his mom picked them out for him.

“Niall’s here!” Anne called down to Harry, who followed her voice upstairs.

“Hey Harry, you ready to go?” Niall asked from the front door.

“Yeah just lemme grab my shoes,” Harry said before picking up his dress shoes.

“You boys look so nice! Can I get a picture?” Anne asked.

Niall laughed and Harry felt his cheeks redden, “Mum, we’re going to a dinner, not prom. This is not a photo op.”

“You ruin all of my fun! Niall was up for it,” Anne said.

“I think you should respect your mum more, Harry,” Niall joked.

“Shut up, Niall. We better get going, we’re already late,” Harry said, tying his shoes.

“Excuses!” Anne laughed.

“We need to go” Harry said.

“Whatever, Harry. Just remember, I’m going to make you take a picture eventually. You can’t avoid being documented forever,” Anne said.

“I know, I know. But seriously we need to leave. I should be home around ten,” Harry said.

“Harry doesn’t know what he’s talking about. He’ll be home around midnight,” Niall corrected.

“Wait-what? What have you gotten me into?” Harry said as Niall pushed him out the door.

“Have fun boys!” Anne called as Niall shut the door behind them.

***

When they got to the event Harry was a little overwhelmed.

First of all, there were way more people than Harry was expecting. The clubhouse was packed with people of all ages, all talking and socializing and drinking. Niall wasn’t lying when he said that there would be free food and drinks. From what Harry could see, the food was mostly gourmet, which didn’t really appeal to him. And since Harry wasn’t an incredibly social person, he wasn’t a big drinker.

Still, Niall dragged him over to the bar and ordered them both some fancy beer that Harry couldn’t for the life of him remember the name. He took it, mostly to be polite. He only had a few sips.

Niall and Harry were chatting in a corner when Zayn and Liam came up to them.

“Niall! Harry!” Zayn yelled, “How are my two favorite golf players?”

Harry could tell that Zayn was a little intoxicated by the way his words slurred just a bit and how Liam held him up slightly but buzzed Zayn was more friendly than sober Zayn so he couldn’t really complain.

“We’re alright, how about you guys?” Niall asked.

“Pretty shitty. I hate these things,” Zayn said, gesturing towards the crowd, “Would much rather be doing just about anything else.”

“Could be worse. At least there’s alcohol!” Niall said and he and Zayn laughed.

“Not a big drinker?” Liam said to Harry, eyeing his nearly full glass.

“Not really, no,” Harry said.

“Me neither,” Liam smiled wide, his brown eyes crinkling.

Okay, maybe Harry could get used to these guys.

“Either of you seen Louis?” Zayn asked them both, “Haven’t seen him since he downed that whiskey sour.”

“Haven’t seen him,” Niall said.

“The kid better stay out of trouble. His dad’s here,” Liam said, warningly.

“We’ll keep and eye out for him,” Niall said, assuredly. 

“So, do you want to sit down?” Zayn asked.

“Yeah, sure,” Harry and Niall said together. They found and empty table and sat down. Harry couldn’t help but notice how Liam pulled out Zayn’s chair for him.

Huh.

A familiar-looking waitress came up to them, “Do you lads need anything?”

“No. thank you-uh- Samantha,” Niall said, nervously reading her name tag.

She blushed, “You can call me Sam.”

“I’m Niall,” he smiled and the two looked at each other longer than completely necessary. Zayn coughed to break the silence.

“Well, let me know if you need anything,” She said before hurrying over to the next table. Niall shamelessly watched her go.

“Is that the girl fro the snack bar?” Harry asked when she was gone.

“Uh, yeah,” Niall said, trying to be nonchalant.

“I think she fancies you too, Nialler,” Liam teased.

“I never said I fancied her!” Niall said.

“You didn’t have to. It’s written all over your face,” Harry said and both Zayn and Liam laughed. Harry mentally patted himself on the back.

“I’m starting to regret getting you this job here, Styles,” Niall said.  
“I’m not,” Zayn laughed and high-fived Harry.

Maybe Niall was right. They sat for a while, talking about golf and Niall’s love life. Harry was starting to feel more comfortable around Liam and Zayn and he thought that maybe they were doing the same. Harry learned that Liam and Zayn were both in the year above him in school, like Niall. The two had known each other since they were little and they met Niall last summer when he was working at the club. Niall had caddied for them and they invited him to play with them the next week.

They were mid-way through a conversation about some party the three of them had gone to last year that had gotten a little out of hand when Harry excused himself to go to the restroom.

He stood up and walked through the tables of people talking, searching for any sign of a toilet. He was just about to ask a waiter when he bumped into Nick.

“Watch it, Harold. Wouldn’t want to start a fight with one of your coworkers so early in the summer,” Nick joked.

“Hey, Nick. Sorry about that. I’ve never been very good at walking,” Harry said with a grin.

“It’s a miracle you can swing a club with your lack of coordination, if I’m being completely honest. So, what... or who are you looking for?” Nick said, noticing that Harry was still looking around the ballroom.

“Just the restroom,” Harry said.

“Through that door, down the hall, and to your right. You’ll see ‘Mens’’ written on the door,” Nick said and pointed at the door to which he was referring.

Harry thanked Nick and followed his instructions, which led him to an intimidating door with an impressive gold knob. He opened the door to find a full living room outside the area where the individual stalls were. When he got near the stall he heard the unmistakeable retching of someone puking in one of the stalls.

“Are you okay?” Harry called stupidly through the wooden stall door.

“‘m fine,” said a muffled, yet familiar voice before retching started again.

Heart pounding, Harry pushed through the door and found Louis, crouched over the toilet, emptying his stomach into it. The overwhelming smell of alcohol hit him and he almost took a step back.

“Said I’m fine,” slurred Louis as he wiped his face with the back of his hand and flushing the toilet.

“You’re obviously not. You just puked everywhere. Here,” Harry bent down to help Louis up and to his surprise, Louis let him.

“Thanks,” Louis said, simply.

“Sure,” Harry said, getting a proper look at Louis for the first time that night. He was a proper mess, with his loose tie, messy hair, and flushed cheeks but Harry couldn’t help but notice how, even in his roughest state, Louis looked like a god.

“Well, I better get back out there,” Louis said and tried to get around Harry. He stumbled on the way and Harry caught him.

“You’re not going back out there like this,” Harry said firmly, his hands still holding Louis’s shoulders to keep him up.

“But my dad-” Louis said.

“Your dad would be more mad if you embarrassed him by making a drunken fool of yourself in front of all his friends,” Harry didn’t actually know Louis’s dad at all but he could imagine.

“I guess you’re right...” Louis trailed off.

“So, do you need help getting home? Did you drive?” Harry asked.

“No, I don’t need help getting home. And no, I didn’t drive. I live right off the course. I can walk,” Louis said. 

Harry knew exactly where he was talking about. There was a neighborhood filled with mansions lining the course. All of the people living in them were members who must have liked the convenience of it.

“You’re not walking home like this alone at night,” Harry said.

“I don’t really have a choice now, do I?” Louis said.

“I’ll walk you home,” Harry knew that this was a very bad idea. Louis didn’t even like him but something possessed him to volunteer. He slung one of Louis’s arms over his shoulder and once again, earned no protest from Louis. They somehow snuck out the back door of the clubhouse and followed a golf cart path threw the course to Louis’s house.

Louis broke their silence, “Your friend Niall’s alright. He’s good friends with Liam and Zayn.”

Harry tried not to think about how Louis was actually trying to start a conversation with him, “Yeah Niall’s great.”

Louis just nodded and they went back to being silent as Harry half-carried Louis through the course. The reach the neighborhood which was dimly-lit by the streetlights and Harry started paying more attention to the houses.

They were all tucked into the green and were hardly visible from the course. Harry thought that maybe that could be because the residents wouldn’t want a bunch of golf balls flying into their yards, interrupting their dinner parties or whatever it was rich people did.

“This is it,” Louis said when they approached an unlit house hidden behind the trees. They followed a path through the woods and Harry’s heart nearly stopped when he got a view of Louis’s house.

Well, house was an understatement, the place was a castle. The house was white and gleaming with the moonlight. There were fountains and gardens and wings. The closest comparison Harry could think of was the Palace of Versailles which Harry had visited on a school trip a few years ago.

“Um, so thanks?” Louis said awkwardly.

“Yeah, sure,” Harry said and turned to leave.

“Hey, Harry?” Louis said and Harry froze, “I’m sorry. You know, for everything?”

Harry let out a small chuckle, “Goodnight, Louis.”

“Goodnight, Harry.”

 

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? I'd love to hear what you guys think!


	4. Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry about the wait on this! it was the end of the quarter at school and my teachers dumped a ton of tests and such on me. I hope you guys like it :)

“But Niall, I need to practice,” Harry groaned. 

“C’mon Harry, live a little. It’s just one day and you need a break. You can’t just play golf every fucking day,” Niall said.

“The Cup is coming up and I’ve been spending far to much time working and doing these social things. I don’t have time for this right now,” Harry said. With the dinner last night and the pool the other day, this week was turning out to be one of Harry’s most social in years.

“Time for what?” Harry’s mother walked into the living room. Niall and Harry were sat on the couch where they had crashed last night. Harry had found Niall after he got back to the club from helping Louis home and the two decided it best if Niall stayed the night.

Harry was beginning to regret the decision.

“A couple of the guys are meeting at the pool today and Harry here refuses to go,” Niall explained to Anne.

“I want to play golf,” Harry grumbled.

“Harry, go to the pool. Have some fun, dear!” said Anne.

“I don’t want to,” Harry said, stubbornly. He knew he sounded like a two-year-old but quite frankly, he didn’t care.

“You’re going to the pool. I’m not allowing you to play golf today,” Anne said and crossed her arms.

“Are you serious?” Harry asked.

“Absolutely. Now go grab your swim things,” Anne said.

Harry groaned but didn’t protest. He would have to somehow figure out another time to play.

***

When they got to the pool they were greeted by a smiling Liam, who said that Zayn was on his way. The others had not yet arrived but Liam told them that all of the regulars were coming, which Harry could only take to mean Louis. 

Harry was relieved to find out Louis wasn’t there already. It gave him some time to mentally prepare himself. He wasn’t sure where they stood after the previous night. Harry might have helped him out but he knew better than to think that it would make them friends now. From what Harry had gathered, it would take a hell of a lot more than that to get Louis to let him in and Harry wasn’t sure it was worth it. 

“So Harry, where did you disappear to last night?” Liam asked, nonchalantly.

“I, erm, well-” Harry didn’t know if he should tell Liam about his little misadventure in the restroom. He knew he wouldn’t be able to explain it to Liam; he couldn’t even explain it to himself. Luckily he was saved when Zayn arrived, ruffling Liam’s hair with his fingers before sitting down next to Liam, “Sorry I’m late. I woke up with a terrible headache.”

“I wonder why,” Niall said sarcastically. 

“Shut it. Not everyone can handle their alcohol as well as others,” Zayn shot back.

“Luck of the Irish,” Niall said smugly.

Liam changed the subject, “You guys do anything after the dinner last night?”

“I just crashed at Harry’s. What about you?” Niall said.

“Went to Z’s for a bit and went home,” Liam said and Zayn let out a sweet half-smile. Niall raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything. 

“You guys are all lame,” Louis appeared seemingly out of nowhere and it gave Harry heart palpitations.

“We can’t all get away with totally ditching our parents at events, dude,” Zayn said.

Louis just smirked and looked around, finally resting his eyes on Harry and Niall, “Shouldn’t you two be out swinging golf clubs or whatever.”

His tone was harsh, but Niall payed no attention, “We opted for a break today. We can’t spend every day out there or we’d go insane.”

“I think I could spend every day other there,” Harry said quietly.

“You’re already insane, Harry,” Niall smiled.

Louis raised an eyebrow before turning back to Zayn and Liam, “So what did I miss last night?”

Liam thought for a second, “Well, you missed Niall obviously flirt with the waitress.”

“Hey- her name is Sam. I was just being polite,” Niall said shrugging.

“You remembered her name?” Zayn laughed.

“Dude, you need to get laid,” Louis said, “But hey, I’m kinda bored. I’m gonna hit the hot tub.”

That didn’t last long.

“There’s a hot tub? I didn’t know that,” Harry asked stupidly.

“That’s because you’ve only been coming here for a week,” Louis said, coldly, “I’ll see you guys around?” Louis said as he got up and walked away.

“What’s his problem?” Liam asked after Louis was out of earshot.

“Dunno,” Harry said and he wasn’t lying. He had no idea why Louis acted so strange all the time, or maybe it was just around him. It made Harry’s attraction to the boy even more confusing. He still perked up at the sound of his name and his thoughts still wandered to the boy’s face when he least expected it. But then again, maybe Louis’s peculiar behavior was exactly why Harry was so interested in him. Harry was usually good at understanding people, even though he couldn’t really make friends with them. Harry had been surrounded by a wide range of different characters throughout his life, from the kids at school to the old people at the country clubs. He’d known every edge of the spectrum. The problem with Louis was that he didn’t really fit in with the other stereotypical rich kids and Harry didn’t understand what it was about him that made him different. He was intriguing because Harry couldn’t figure him out.

“Weird,” was all Zayn said.

“I’m getting hot,” Niall complained after a few moments of quiet.

“There’s a pool right there,” Zayn said, gesturing towards the pool unnecessarily. 

“I realize that, Malik. Anyone want to hope in with me?” Niall asked the group.

“I will,” Liam volunteered.

“Sure,” Harry said.

“Are you tossers going to leave me out here all by myself?” Zayn asked,

“You could always join us, ya know?” Niall said.

Zayn shifted uncomfortably, “No way.”

“The pool is like three feet deep, Z,” Liam said softly.

“Yeah, you don’t even have to get your hair wet,’ Niall laughed.

“Shut it, Niall,” Zayn snapped.

“I’m going to get in the pool now. You guys coming?” Niall stood up and Harry followed, ditching his sunglasses and sandals. They both decided to go all in and jump off the diving board while Liam convinced Zayn to wade in.

Niall went first, running across the diving board, earning a whistle from the lifeguard because, apparently, that’s dangerous. He made a massive splash, spraying two ten-year old girls who squealed loudly in protest.

“I give it an eight!” Liam yelled from the shallow end.

“An eight?” Zayn asked incredulously, “That’s a six and a half at best.”

“I’d say it’s a six,” Harry said, “You’re no Tom Daley, Nialler.”

“You guys suck, that was definitely a nine,” Niall said, swimming with his head out of the water over to the shallow end with Liam and Zayn.

“Your turn Styles. Try and impress the judges!” Liam called from across the pool.

“Alright, but bear in mind, I am an amateur,” Harry said before climbing up the diving board. Harry walked towards the end of the board and stopped and took a deep breath. He swallowed hard before lifting his arms dramatically and diving into he pool.

His hands hit the water first and it felt nice. Surprisingly, he didn’t belly flop; he actually felt semi-graceful as he cut through the water. He resurfaced to a round of applause from the others and he swam quickly over towards them.

“Now that was an eight,” Zayn said, impressed. 

“I’d give it a seven and a half,” Niall said defensively.

“I’d say eight and three quarters,” Liam said, “It would be a nine if it weren’t for how much you looked like baby Tarzan coming back up.”

“How you come out of the water doesn’t matter in diving,” Harry said and splashed him.

“Watch it,” Zayn said, running his hand over his hair to make sure it hadn’t been messed up. 

The other three took that moment to all splash Zayn.

“Fuck you guys. This is why I don’t like to get in,” Zayn grumbled.

“No, you just can’t swim,” Niall said.

“That’s it. I’m getting out. I hate all of you,” Zayn said and turned towards the pool latter.

Niall shrugged, “S’Not my fault he never learned.”

Liam tackled him playfully, pushing him under the surface of the pool splashing Harry in the process. The two wrestled under water and Harry watched them and smiled. He had to admit that he was enjoying himself. Maybe, for the first time in a long time, he was actually making friends.

***

A quarter to midnight and Harry was wide awake in his bed. He was restless and obsessing over golf, as usual. Except this time it was worse. He itched to make up for the time he lost today at the pool. He needed to practice, to perfect every swing, every putt. The green was calling for him.

He sat up and slipped on some trousers; he knew what he had to do. Pulling on a shirt, he slipped out the door with his putter and a pocketful of golf balls.

The night sky was lit with stars so it wasn’t too much of a struggle to see. He’d imagine doing this before, how could he not? The putting green was right there. Just a short walk through the woods from his door. Before he was afraid he would get caught, the fear is still there but the need to practice was much greater.

He’d always pictured it being much more eery outside his house on the course at night than it was. It was kind of serene, in a way. The only sound was that of crickets and Harry felt more calm than afraid.

The moonlight lit up the putting green. It wasn’t ideal, but it would do, so Harry got to work.

He placed the ball in various places, perfecting each spot before moving to the next. He decided to pop in an earphone, using the music to keep him sane. After a couple of seconds of deliberation, he decided on The Naked and Famous and played ‘Girls Like You.’ He got lost in the music and his practice which made the dark figure he saw in the distance all the more startling when he looked up.

His heart nearly stopped. He wondered for a second if he should run but he was frozen in place and the figure was moving towards him. Harry squinted his eyes.

No fucking way.

“You really aren’t supposed to be out here,” Louis chuckled as he approached.

“Yeah- well, I couldn’t get any practice in during the day because Niall forced me to go to the pool with him,” Harry said.

“Don’t let me disrupt your practice then,” Louis said as he sat down along side the green.

“Alright,” Harry said. He dropped another ball down and lined up his putter. He took a short swing and made the putt.

Louis did a quiet golf clap, “Nicely done.”

“Thanks,” Harry mumbled, “What are you doing out here anyway?”

“Don’t act so excited to see me Styles, I might confuse it with affection,” Louis beamed, his teeth seeming to glow in the moonlight, “But I just needed some air.”

Harry eyed him skeptically, not really buying it but not wanting to question it further.

“Seriously, don’t let me distract you. I can leave if it’s a problem. I’d just prefer to sit here than wander around aimlessly by myself, ya know?” Louis said.

Harry didn’t know because he’d always preferred to be alone but he still nodded. He put down another ball and putts it in again. They continue like this for a while, Harry wasn’t sure how long exactly. It was kind of nice having Louis there, although Harry would never admit it out loud. 

“You’re really good at this,” Louis said quietly after Harry made another putt.

“I’ve had a lot of practice, I guess,” Harry shrugged, “Do you ever play?”

“My dad tried to get me into it when I was little but it was never really my thing. I don’t think I’m patient enough,” Louis explained, “What about you? How did you get into it?”

“My dad. He started me young. I was four or five,” Harry said.

“Are you two close?” Louis asked.

“He left when I was eight,” Harry said simply.

“Oh, I’m sorry- I didn’t mean to-” Louis fumbled with his words.

“Don’t worry about it. That was years ago. It doesn’t bother me anymore,” Harry didn’t look at him but he could feel Louis studying him. The truth was Harry never really talked about his dad. That subject was off-limits in his house and he never minded it. He figured he was better off without him in his life if he was anything like he remembered. 

He didn’t remember much besides the stale smell of alcohol on his father’s breath or the fighting he overheard at night when his parents thought he was asleep.

No, he was definitely better off without his dad.

“I’m still sorry,” Louis said. They went on in silence for a little longer before Harry finally got hit with the exhaustion that should have come much earlier.

“It’s late. I should probably go to bed. I’ve got to work in the morning,” Harry yawned.

“Yeah I better get back as well,” Louis said, standing up.

“Night, Louis,” Harry said awkwardly.

“Goodnight, Harry,” Louis said smiling, “We should do this again sometime.”

Harry bit his lip to hide his smile, “Okay.”

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments?? xx


	5. Chapter Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm on break so this update came a little sooner than usual. I hope you guys enjoy :)

When Harry and Niall arrived at the club the next day, they found Simon in the employee office with Nick and he was quick to give them their assignment, “I need you boys to caddy today.”

They nod, waiting for more information.

“We have some very important members playing today,” Simon continues, “Niall and Nick, of course, I’m sure you remember Mr. Sullivan, Mr. Payne, and Mr. Tomlinson. So, you know what to expect.”

Harry’s heart stopped at the name. That had to be Louis’s father (and Liam’s father too he supposed). He looked over to Niall who was biting his lip and Nick’s usual smile gone.

“Harry,” Simon turned to him, “These men are some of the most influential in London and their happiness with how things are done are of the utmost importance to the club. So don’t mess this up.”

Harry gulped, Simon may not have said it aloud but the “or you’re fired” was implied. Harry hadn’t met any of these men but he knew from what Liam and Zayn had said at dinner that Mr. Tomlinson was intimidating.He braced himself for the worst and accepted that today was going to be a long day.

***

Mr. Tomlinson was a big man with broad shoulders. He looked almost nothing like his son apart from the tan skin. His hair was white and Harry wondered how old he was. It wasn’t uncommon for older men to have younger kids at these country clubs. Harry couldn’t help but notice that those men married much younger, much more attractive women. They were their trophy wifes which made Harry a little queasy. Mr. Tomlinson may have been older but he was definitely not frail in any way. Harry thought that he could probably bench press twice his weight which made him even more intimidating.

Harry had imagined what caddying for the business executives would be like. He thought he had considered the worst possible scenarios but he had been wrong.

These men were absolutely, horrifyingly, intolerable. 

The hardly ever made eye contact with the caddies. They treated them as servants and when they weren’t acting like Harry, Niall, and Nick weren’t there, they were yelling at them for stupid things that the boys could not control. 

On the first hole, Harry, who had been assigned to carry Mr. Tomlinson’s bag by some cruel twist of fate, had his first bad encounter with the man. Mr. Tomlinson had asked for an iron and apparently asking which one was not the appropriate response. From then on, Harry took it upon himself to figure out which club would suit each situation best.

According to Mr. Tomlinson, he wasn’t the best judge of that and that earned him a great deal of verbal abuse for the entirety of the course, mostly whispered swears but still, it was by far the worst he’d ever been treated. Well, on the job, at least.

Each hole felt like a lifetime. Harry was too afraid to say anything to Niall or Nick, for fear of one of the men attacking them. The silence made time go by even slower. Harry’s watch, which he had to be careful about checking, seemed to virtually stop. Harry felt as if he was walking on eggshells trying not to offend them in any way. 

It was bullshit really, how these men thought that they could treat people like shit just because they had money. Harry hoped that someday, if he ever became a professional and had a well-developed bank account, he would still treat everyone the same way he did now because people deserve to be treated like they matter. 

It was difficult, but Harry made it through all eighteen holes and he never felt more relieved to be done with anything in his entire life. That included the time when Harry had to give an oral presentation on the different political parties of Russia to his entire class.

They found Simon after they finished up and he told them they could take the rest of the day to do whatever they pleased. Niall and Harry decided to grab a snack from the snack bar then go play at least nine holes, depending on how long it takes them.

“Simon always feels bad for whoever gets stuck caddying for those pricks,” Niall whispered once they were alone, “So he’ll probably go easy on us for the rest of the week. He understands how hard they are to work with. God, I’m so excited that’s over with.”

Harry smiled at the thought of more possible free time to practice, “At least you didn’t have Tomlinson.”

“True but Sullivan dropped a couple of slurs against Ireland when I ‘set his bag down too hard’. First off, what the hell does that even mean? And you know how I get when people insult my homeland,” Niall said.  
“Yeah I do,” Harry nodded.

 

When they got to the snack bar, they found Liam, Zayn, and Louis there sitting around a table. Zayn and Liam got up and welcomed them with hugs.

“Hey, what are you guys up to?” Liam asked.

“Just finished up caddying so we thought we’d grab a bite before we go back out and play,” Niall explained.

“You should come eat with us, we just ordered. Also, check out who is working,” Zayn said and cocked his head towards the snack bar’s window. The pretty, dark-haired girl Sam was standing there. Harry could see Niall cheeks flush red.

“Yeah, okay,” Niall said, slightly flustered. 

They walked over to the window and Harry examined the menu. It was mostly sandwiches and light snacks.

For once, Harry had more confidence and he stepped up to order first, “Can I get a chicken salad sandwich and a bottle of water?”

“Sure,” Sam said brightly and wrote down his order, “Anything else?”

“No, that’s it,” Harry said. He payed and she handed him his sandwich. He walked over to the table and sat down with the other boys.

“You think he’ll mess this up?” Zayn said, watching Niall from his seat.

“Probably,” Harry laughed. Niall was still a little red when he ordered and they could tell, even from their table, that he was flustered.The two talked longer than necessary and Sam slipped him a piece of paper with a wink. When Niall walked back with his sandwich and two bags of crisps, he was beaming.

“How’d it go?” Liam asked.

“Got her number,” Niall said, casually.

Zayn high-fived him under the table, just in case she was looking over at them which was oddly considerate of him.

“So, you gonna ask her out?” Liam pressed.

“Don’t know yet. I don’t want to come on to strong,” Niall said truthfully.

“You should ask her to come to Louis’s tomorrow,” Liam suggested.

“Louis’s tomorrow?” Harry asked. He hadn’t heard of any party.

“My parents are leaving town tomorrow afternoon. Thought I’d make use of having the house to myself,” Louis said with an air of arrogance. He didn’t make eye contact with Harry as he said it, despite the fact that Harry was the one who had asked.

“You’re coming right?” Zayn asked Harry.

Harry looked over at Louis, who narrowed his eyes for a second before nodding.

“Erm-yeah. Maybe? I’ll have to ask my mum,” Harry said.

“Your mum?” Louis finally looked at Harry and raised an eyebrow at him.

“She’ll be cool with it though. Harry’s mum is chill,” Niall said.

“So if she was to say no, then Harry wouldn’t go?” Louis asked.

“I dunno,” Harry said, “I don’t really see her saying no, though.”

“You’re a teenager who abides by his mum’s rules. Wow,” Louis’s tone was condescending and his was really staring to piss off Harry.

Instead of retaliating Harry just took a bite of his sandwich. He thought things might be better now with Louis but he was mistaken. The previous night’s bonding session on the putting green had clearly meant nothing to the boy. Harry wanted to know what Louis was thinking. He wanted to get into the pretty boy’s head. He wanted to know why he acted so much more like a dick with people around than when they are alone. 

All he knew was that he liked the Louis he got when it was just them a whole lot more than the one sitting in front of him now.

“Shouldn’t you two be working or something? How come you’re always here?” Louis continued and Harry wondered if he was trying to egg him on.

“We were caddying for Liam’s and your fathers so Simon let us out early,” Niall said shrugging.

“Who had my father?” Louis asked casually.

“Me,” Harry said watching Louis, whose face was unreadable.

“How did that go?” Louis asked, focusing his gaze on Harry now.

“How do you think it went?” Harry snapped. He hadn’t meant to offend Louis. Louis should know that his dad was a prick to anyone of lower status, which was pretty much everyone.

That’s why Harry was surprised when Louis pushed off the table to get up and stormed away, leaving the rest of them gaping at his sudden departure.

Harry felt a pang of guilt.

“What the hell?” Zayn said, astounded by his friends actions.

“Here, I’ll go after him,” Liam said, attempting to get up.

“No, I will,” Harry said and Liam furrowed his brow but let him go.

Harry followed in the direction that Louis had gone, he figured he was on his way to the locker room.

When he got there he found Louis, sitting alone.

“What do you want?” Louis barked. His head was down and Harry couldn’t see his face.

“I want to know why you act so fucking weird around me every time we’re here,” Harry stated.

“I don’t act weird around you,” Louis said, refusing to make eye contact with him.

“Well, it sure as hell seems like you do. You treat me like shit. You know what sucks? I like you when it’s just the two of us. Out on the green last night? That was nice. You actually acted like a decent human being. But then whenever we’re out in public you act like I’m just some employee sent here to serve you. I don’t get it,” Harry tried to keep his voice steady but he was angry and it showed.

“I don’t mean to,” Louis said quietly.

“You don’t mean to? So what, you accidentally make snide comments about me working here or whatever. I’m sorry if you’re so much of an asshole that you can’t get over the fact that I have to work here in order to play here because I can’t afford it-”

“-Harry, it’s not that at all-” Louis was shaking his head but Harry continued, “But I can’t change that. So you’re going to have to get over it because I’m going to be around for the rest of the summer.”

“Harry...” Louis trailed off.

“You know what the worst part of this is for me? I’m actually really fucking attracted to you. And it fucking sucks. I don’t even know why I’m telling you this-”

Louis stood up and pushed him into the lockers, “You’re attracted to me?”

“Yes,” Harry breathed. Louis was close, very close. Harry almost didn’t notice how red his eyes were before Louis slammed his lips into his. Louis had him pinned against the lockers, which should have been far more uncomfortable than it was. Louis’s lips were urgent, his tongue pressed against Harry’s lips and he eagerly allowed him entrance. Louis tasted like lemonade and Harry wished he could just drink him in for the rest of his life. Louis’s hands were laced into Harry’s messy curls. He gasped when Louis rolled his hips into his, pulling him impossibly closer. 

But then he heard a sound and Louis jumped away with wide eyes.

“Shit- I’m- fuck,” was all Louis could say before he disappeared from the locker room, leaving Harry breathless and confused in his wake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tell me what you guys think!


	6. Chapter Five

Through 18 holes and dinner, Harry’s mind never wandered from Louis. He shouldn’t have been obsessing over him still when he sat wide awake in his bed that night, but he was. 

Because Louis Tomlinson had kissed him.

The idea was so ridiculous that it made Harry question whether or not he had imagined it. The probability seemed low, that Louis, the golden boy of Oakwood with bad reputation and the obvious distaste for caddies, would kiss Harry, the no name caddy.

But the memory of the taste of Louis was vivid. He could still feel the ghost Louis’s body pressed against his.

Louis was going to drive him insane. 

He can’t just do that, kiss Harry then, run away.

Granted, they had heard something but still, he had left Harry with so many questions that Harry’s head hurt. Why was Louis so rude to him? Why had Louis kissed him? Did Louis like him or what? Something told Harry that those questions weren’t easily answered.

All he knew was that Louis had kissed him and Harry had liked it. A lot, actually. His infatuation with the boy was impossible to explain but he wanted more of him. Something drew him to Louis and it was more than his tan skin or perfect bone structure.

Louis was frustrating, confusing, infuriating, intoxicating, and beautiful. 

So when sleep finally took over that night, Harry dreamt of blue eyes and soft lips.

****

“Hey mate, you alright?” Niall asked, interrupting Harry’s thoughts.

They had just finished up with the children’s clinics and had decided to spend their free time today on the driving range, which was where they were headed.

Harry wanted to say “no” and unleash all of his feelings on Niall but decided against it. Niall knew he wasn’t straight, he’d figured that out before the drama at Finchley. Harry wasn’t sure when he had found out exactly but it never really mattered because he hadn’t cared and Harry was incredibly thankful for that. Niall was always there for him.

Harry didn’t want to tell Niall yet because he didn’t really know the answers to the inevitable questions his friend would have. Harry was just going to have to keep this to himself for a little while longer, or probably forever because the kiss was never going to amount to anything.

Because he couldn’t say “Sorry, I was just obsessing of Louis Tomlinson snogging me in the locker room, he settled on, “Nothing, just a little tired.”

“You’ve been weird ever since you started working here,” Niall said sighing.

“Sorry,” Harry said distractedly. Mr. Tomlinson was yelling at a club employee over by the clubhouse. 

Harry wondered if it was hard for Louis to live with him. It’s had to be, the man was tool. A wave of guilt washed over Harry because his family life was good despite his father’s absence. Harry would much rather take not having a dad around over one like Louis’s.

He wondered how Mr. Tomlinson treated Louis. He knew that Louis got in trouble frequently with the partying and everything. How did Mr. Tomlinson react when Louis came home drunk at an ungodly hour? Harry hoped he never had to witness anything like that.

Harry wondered what Mr. Tomlinson would do if he knew that Louis had kissed him yesterday and shivered at the thought. 

It was weird really, how Harry was sitting there feeling sorry for someone who had all of the things so many people dream about. A mansion, a nice car, a definite future in a successful business. But that stuff really wasn’t everything, Harry knew that.

***

After they had gotten in as much driving as their muscles will allow, Niall and Harry headed back to Harry’s house, where they got dressed for the party. 

“You’re wearing that?” Niall eyed Harry skeptically. Harry was wearing a button-dow, blazer, and a striped bow tie.

“What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?” Harry said, furrowing his brow.

“You’re going to a party, not meeting your boyfriends parents, wait, you do know that Louis’s parents won’t be home right?” Niall laughed.

Harry ignored him, “What do you suppose I wear then?”

“Ditch the tie and the blazer- and unbutton the top button of you shirt,” Niall instructed, “Then, roll up your sleeves.”

“Fine,” Harry said and did as he was told. They walked upstairs and found Anne, sitting on the sofa.

“You boys going out?” Anne asked.

“Yeah, we’re going to a party- that okay?” Harry asked, secretly hoping that she would say no and he could go back downstairs and crawl into bed for the rest of his life.

“Of course! Have fun and be a normal teenager!” Anne said, enthusiastically, “Just be safe and don’t get arrested or anything.”

“I don’t think you have to worry about that with this one,” Niall said, pointing to Harry.

“Yeah well, I’ll be going now,” Harry said and he and Niall slipped out the door, Niall waving to Anne on the way out.

***

The party was very crowded. Harry hadn’t seen the vast majority of the people there before in his life. Some faces were familiar from around Oakwood but everyone else was new and Harry had never felt more uncomfortable. He was just about to demand to leave when Liam, Zayn, and Louis appeared.

“Hey glad you made it!” Zayn yelled over the Kid Cudi remix that blared from the speakers.

“Glad to be here,” Niall yelled back, “You seen Sam?”

“She’s over there,” Liam said nodded his head towards the corner of the room. Harry saw her with blonde girl he recognized from the snack bar. Niall went over to talk to her, leaving Harry alone with the others.

“So Harry, you’ve never been to one of these have you?” Liam asked amused by Harry’s obvious discomfort.

“I mean, I’ve been to parties. Just not quite of this caliber,” Harry said honestly. Louis smirked and Harry bit his lip. It was the first time he’d seen him since they had kissed but apparently, nothing had changed.

“You’ll get used to it,” Zayn said (Harry seriously doubted that), “But hey, Liam and I have got to go say hi to Ben, he’s back from boarding school.”

Harry had no idea who Ben was but he tried to hide his fear about being left alone.

When Zayn and Liam disappeared back into the crowd, Harry made eye contact with Louis, who, Harry thought, looked just as scared as he was, “Well, I better go-”

“No wait!” Harry said, grabbing Louis’s arm, “Can we talk?”

“Um,” Louis looked around to see if anyone was watching, “Yeah, but just for a minute.”

“Okay,” Harry said. Louis led him through the mass of people and up a flight of stairs to room, which had to be his.

The room was well decorated and didn’t look like a teenage boys room, apart from the pile of clothes on the ground.

“Sorry about the mess,” Louis said, kicking a pair of trousers out of the way.

“It’s alright. My room’s messy too,” Not exactly true, but whatever, Harry didn’t mind Louis’s dirty clothes.

“So why did you drag me out of my party?” Louis asked pointedly.

“I think you know why,” Harry said, crossing his arms, “Don’t do this Louis.”

“Do what exactly?” Louis asked, cocking his head to the side in mock-confusion.

“Act like you don’t remember yesterday,” Harry said exasperated, “it’s been a little over 24 hours and it’s not like you were drunk.”

“You don’t know that,” Louis said with a grin.

“Yes I do, and that’s not ever the point,” Harry said.

“Then what is the point?” Louis asked.

“You kissed me!” Harry almost yelled. Saying it aloud felt kind of liberating, like a huge weight was just lifted off of his chest.

“Yeah,” Louis said, “So?”

“Don’t act like it didn’t mean anything,” Harry said, moving closer to Louis.

“What if it didn’t? I’ve kissed a lot of people,” Louis said, causing Harry stop at the reality of that statement.

“It meant something to me,” Harry said, softly.

“Did it now?” Louis asked, his turn to move closer.

“Yeah, it’s all I’ve thought about since it happened. And it’s kind of driving me mad,” Harry said.

“The kiss or me?” Louis asked, he was very close.

“Both,” Harry said, trying to keep his voice steady.

“What if I kissed you again?” Louis asked with a small smile.

“As long as you don’t run away after,” Harry said and Louis let out a small chuckle before his lips were on Harry’s. Louis smelled a little like alcohol but Harry didn’t mind. He pulled Louis close, not wanting to ever let go. Louis’s tongue parted his lips and Harry ran his hands up and down Louis’s toned back. 

Louis pulled back, breaking their kiss, “I really do have to go back down there.”

Harry sighed, dropping his hands from Louis, “Yeah, okay.”

“Sorry, it’s just this is my house- and I need to be there- people are probably wondering-” Louis said.

“It’s fine, Louis. Go join the party. Just don’t act like this never happened?” Harry meant it to sound like a statement, but it came out a question.

“I don’t think I could, even if I wanted to,” Louis grinned at him, his eyes crinkling, “C’mon, I’m going to show you how the other half lives.”

With that, Louis grabbed his hand and dragged him back downstairs, where he dropped it as soon as other people could see. Harry looked around and saw a table where beer pong was set up. He saw a redhead girl down a red solo cup filled with beer and a dark-haired boy took a hit from a large, expensive-looking water bong. He watched a girl take her hand to her mouth and then swallowed something from her cup after, so he assumed she was taking some sort of pill and that it probably wasn’t prescribed to her. 

The whole scene was kind of surreal, like something out of a movie. The music blared over the conversations and Harry had trouble trying to focus on one thing at a time. Everything was kind of blurred and he hadn’t even taken a sip of alcohol. 

He he had nearly forgotten Louis was with him when when Louis practically yelled in his hear, “Want a drink?”

Harry nodded and Louis disappeared into the crowd. He took the time alone to look around for Niall, and he found him in the corner, pressed against Sam. Shaking his head slightly, he smiled to himself.

Nice job Niall.

Louis appeared again and handed Harry a bottle of some fancy beer Harry had never heard of, “So, it’s your first time at one of these, how do you it?”

Harry contemplated that for a second, “Well, it’s not nearly as bad as I thought it would be but I still wouldn’t say it was ‘my thing.’”

Harry made quotation marks with his fingers.

“So what is your thing?” Louis asked, genuine interest in his eyes.

“Golf,” Harry said without thinking.

“Do you like anything besides golf?” Louis asked.

“Um, I like music, I guess,” Harry shrugged.

Louis smiled and Harry couldn’t help but notice how his eyes twinkled, “You’ll have to show me your favorite music sometime.”

“Louis!” Some random drunken blonde boy with sunglasses on inside came up and put his arm around him, interrupting their conversation, “You need to play foosball with us. Like now. I’m getting killed without you as a partner.”

Louis looked at Harry apologetically but Harry just smiled and nodded to show him it was okay. Harry was okay, because Louis had inferred that they will hang out again and that Harry could show him his music. They were making progress.

Harry watched Louis go and took a swig of his beer, which tasted foul but he drank it anyway. He only had to stand there awkwardly for a second before Liam tapped him on the shoulder.

“Hey, you seen Zayn?” Liam asked.

“No, sorry I haven’t,” Harry replied.

“Dammit,” Liam swore, “I swear he was right beside me one second and the next...”

“Maybe he’s outside?” Harry suggested.

“Yeah, come to think of it, he had mentioned wanting to get in the hot tub,” Liam said.

“Oh, a hot tub sounds nice right about now,” Harry sighed.

“Well, we can go check if he’s there and if he is we can join,” Liam offered.

Harry didn’t know what else he would do, seeing as he didn’t know hardly anyone here so he agreed and followed Liam outside. Zayn was in the hot tub, like they thought, smoking a cigarette. He waved to them when he saw them. There were other people in the hot tub, all of whom were wearing nothing but their underwear. Luckily, Harry had never been modest. They stripped and got in, Liam sitting in between him and Zayn. The other two didn’t introduce Harry to the other people there which made Harry question if they even knew who these people were. 

Harry sat and relaxed, the conversation flew easily over topics from football to the club gossip, although he didn’t actually say much himself. Harry didn’t know any of the people mentioned but he still laughed and soon enough it was well past midnight and the other party-goers were filing out.

Harry pushed himself out of the tub and grabbed a towel from the convenient basket sitting next to the hot tub. He dried off and pulled back on his clothes. He walked back in the house to find it nearly empty, apart from a few people walking out the door as he entered. The music was still blaring so Harry went to turn it off (it only took him five minutes to figure out how to work the Tomlinson’s complicated stereo system.) 

He found Louis passed out on the couch and sighed. Louis’s face seemed so relaxed in his sleep. He was much softer. Harry thought about carrying Louis up to his room but figured it would be just as good to put a pillow under his head and pull a blanket over him. He was doing just that when Niall walked in.

“I’ve been looking all over for you. Let’s go! We have to work tomorrow,” Niall said, already walking towards the door, “You have any fun?”

Harry gave Louis one last look before saying, “Yeah, I think I did.”

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for your comments and kudos. You're so sweet :)


	7. Chapter Six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im sorry it took my 47 years to update this. from now until the end updates will be about once a week. i wish i was organized enough to give y'all a set time and day of the week but alas, im not. i graduate high school sunday so ill be free to write as much as i want after that! if you have any questions about updates or anything really, you can find me at trytomakemestay.tumblr.com

The headache that Harry woke up with the next day had little to do with the small amount of alcohol he had consumed but more to do with lack of sleep. The sun seemed too bright for eight in the morning but yet, his alarm was beeping at its usual high pitch and he forced himself to roll out of bed. 

Going to a party the night before he had to work was a bad idea but Harry couldn’t regret it considering the circumstances. He wondered if he’d see Louis today at Oakwood, Harry still had no idea what to expect from Louis when he next saw him, not that he’d ever really known what to expect in the first place. That boy was unpredictable.

Harry took a shower, got dressed, and went upstairs where his mother was waiting for him with breakfast.

“Good morning, darling!” Anne greeted Harry with her usual cheery self, handing him a bowl of cereal. They sat down together at the table and Harry starting shoveling food into his mouth. 

“So how was your night? When did you get in? You got here after I went to bed.” she asked.

“Late,” Harry said, trying to hide his smile but nothing got past Anne.

“Was there a girl?” Anne asked.

“Mum,” Harry said. He could feel his cheeks getting pink with embarrassment.

“A boy?” Anne pressed, eyes wide, the corners of her lips turned up.

“Mum!” Harry sighed, exasperated.

“So there is a boy? What’s his name?” Anne teemed with excitement, her eyes bright and smile wide.

“There’s no boy,” Harry lied, but the heat in his cheeks gave him away.

“There’s totally a boy,” Anne said.

“Nope,” Harry said, shaking his head and avoiding her eyes. Harry was usually very open with his mum but he had no idea how he could explain Louis to her when he couldn’t explain him to himself.

“You used to tell me everything,” Anne pouted, sticking he lower lip out slightly.

Harry changed the subject, “I have to go to work.”

He pushed up from the table and put his bowl in the sink. 

“You’re telling me about this boy when you get home!” Anne yelled as Harry walk out of the kitchen to grab his golf bag.

“Nothing to tell!” Harry yelled back as he picked up the bag and walked out the door.

***

Harry wasn’t really expecting to see Louis at the club the day after the party. He knew that the boy probably slept in and then had to clean everything up before his parents got back from where ever it was they went.

Harry was surprised, though, when he didn’t see Louis for the rest of the week. He had seen Zayn and Liam a couple of times and he was really starting to like them. He might even consider them friends now, which was weird because Harry didn’t have many of those. He never had.

He had to work every day and had very little time to play. Harry knew that if this kept up, he could kiss the Oakwood Cup goodbye. He used the time he had to spend at the club working to scope out the members to see who would be his competition and much to his dismay he realized the Mr. Tomlinson and his friends were the best players at the club, which was fairly typical. Harry was used to playing much older men in tournaments. Golf skill doesn’t really wither with age like in other sports. The older guys have always been Harry’s competition in real tournaments (as opposed to junior tournaments). 

He wasn’t really looking forward to having to compete against the unpleasant man but he knew he would have to do it. He just hoped that it wouldn’t get in his head and mess him up. Harry worried too much about everything.

***

If someone asked Harry why he thought it was a good idea to sneak out of his house and trespass on a golf course to practice putting again, he wouldn’t have an answer. 

But yet, Harry was slipping out the door of his basement with his putter and a pocketful of golfballs.

He had been restless since he got home. There had been afternoon showers that day so Harry hadn’t gotten any practice in at all that day. He need to play golf. He couldn’t sleep or function at all really if he didn’t. 

So maybe it wasn’t logical to anyone else but it was to Harry. 

Once again, Harry tried to drown out the silence of the summer night with music. This time opting for some Passion Pit. He bobbed his head to “Take a Walk” as he practiced.

He shouldn’t have been startled by the figure in the distance that was slowly growing familiar.

“Do you ever sleep?” Harry asks lightly as Louis approaches.

“Yeah, actually I sleep a fairly normal amount. I just wake up late,” Louis explains, “Do you ever relax?”

Harry took a deep breathe. He didn’t think Louis was actually looking for a response but still, he replied, “I’m relaxed right now.”

“Sure,” Louis said raising an eyebrow skeptically but changes the subject, “So what are you listening to?”

“Passion Pit,” Harry said.

“Who?” Louis asked, confused.

“C’mon, Lou,” The nickname rolled off Harry’s tongue so easily, “They aren’t that obscure.”

“Sorry I’m not a hipster like you, Harold,” Louis smiled.

“I’m not- whatever. I know you’ve heard their stuff before. Here, hold on,” Harry took his headphones out and played “Sleepyhead” on full volume.

“Oh, I think I’ve heard this before,” Louis nodded in recognition, “They’re good.”

“The always put me in a good mood,” Harry said.

“I see why,” Louis took off the hoodie he was wearing and put it down in the grass. He sat down on top, “Don’t let me get in your way. I’m just going to sit here and laugh at you whenever you miss a putt.”

“Added pressure. I like it. It’ll help me get used to high-stakes putting,” Harry laughed and Louis joined. Harry couldn’t help but notice how the corners of Louis’s eyes crinkled when he smiled.

They spent a while in silence, Harry putting and Louis watching. The silence wasn’t uncomfortable though. Normally, when Harry’s with people he feels like he should try to come up with something to say but with Louis the silence was nice. Rather than feeling like he should fill the empty air with conversation, he felt like he wasn’t alone. Harry thought that if Louis wasn’t there, he’d be terribly lonely.

Eventually the night grew cold and Harry’s eyes grew tired. Reluctantly Harry said, “It’s getting late.”

“Don’t go,” Louis said and bit his lip, blushing.

Harry smiled and walked over to where Louis sat in the grass. He sat down next to him.

Harry wondered why Louis seemed to enjoy late night strolls on the golf course alone. Or maybe there was another explanation for Louis wandering outside at this hour.

Eventually, Harry got curious enough and he asked, “Why do you do this?”

Louis looked up from the grass he was picking at, “Do what?”

“Come out here this late?” Harry clarified, “Do you like this time of night or can you not sleep or what?”

Louis bit his lip and seemed unsure of what to say.

Harry tried to backtrack, “I mean, it’s okay if you don’t want to tell me- sorry- I didn’t mean to-”

“Harry, it’s fine. I guess it’s a little bit of everything? My parents fight a lot and they try to wait until we are all asleep but I’m always awake, ya know? So I just sneak out my bedroom window so I don’t have to listen to them bicker,” Louis said simply.

Harry’s voice was momentarily stunted by Louis’s honesty but after he took a second to collect himself, he replied, “That was me before my dad left. I remember wishing for them to get a divorce, as sick as that sounds.”

“You wanted your parents to split up?” Louis’s brows pressed together in confusion.

“I mean, I thought they’d each be better off with someone else. Someone who makes them happy?” Harry said, his voice rising towards the end, making it a question.

“Just because they’re split up doesn’t mean that they are going to find someone better,” Louis said, cynically.

“Well, they’re definitely never going to find anyone else if they’re stuck together,” Harry said.

“I guess you’re right,” Louis was silent for a moment, “Harry, are you ever scared you’ll end up like your parents?”

Harry contemplated that for a second, “Sometimes, but I’d like to think I’ve learned from their mistakes. What about you?”

“All the time,” Louis said quietly.

“You shouldn’t,” Harry assured him.

“Why?” Louis asked.

“You’re different from them,” Harry said.

“How do you know that? You barely know me and you’ve only just met my dad,” Louis said.

“I just do,” Harry said and Louis didn’t argue. Moments pass as they sit in the grass and stare at the sky. The clouds from the day’s storms have gone and the stars lit up the night sky. The scene was pleasantly peaceful.

“I should probably let you sleep soon,” Louis said eventually.

“Probably,” Harry smiled.

“If I come again tomorrow night, will you be here?” Louis asked with an almost hopeful look in his eye that made Harry want to throw his fist in the air triumphantly.

“Probably,” Harry repeated.

“Good,” Louis beamed and stood up. He then grabbed Harry’s hands and pulled him up as well. 

“Alright, well, goodnight,” Harry said, awkwardly and turned to leave but Louis pulled his hand, of which he had not let go, back.

“Wait,” Louis spun him around and planted his lips on Harry’s. Harry pulled him close and felt the warmth of Louis’s body against his own. His lips were soft and sweet and the kiss was far too short for Harry’s liking but it was late and they were both exhausted.

“I’m kinda growing to like you Styles,” Louis said when they pulled apart.

“Well that’s good,” Harry nearly laughed, “you’ve been driving me insane since I saw you that first time at the club, Tomlinson.”

“In a good way or a bad way?” Louis asked.

“Both,” Harry answered easily.

“Goodnight Harry,” Louis said with a half-smile.

“Goodnight, see ya tomorrow,” Harry replied.

“You mean that?” Louis asked.

“Probably.”

***

When Harry got back to his bed his mind might have been racing even more than it was before he left. He wondered if midnight putting wasn’t the best idea for calming his nerves.

Probably.

When he was with Louis everything was so comfortable. They had pretty personal conversations considering they had only known each other for a few weeks but there was something about Louis that made Harry open up. Part of it was that Louis shared so much with him. Harry pondered the prospect of Louis being a generally open person but that didn’t seem the case. Something told him that Louis didn’t let down his walls much. 

Maybe it was the late night or the fresh cut grass glistening with dew, or maybe Louis genuinely felt as comfortable with Harry as Harry did with him. The idea was hard for Harry to wrap his head around. 

Now that Louis was gone though, Harry was on edge, as if all of the nerves that should have overwhelmed him all night suddenly sprung on him. He tried to take deep breaths to keep himself from hyperventilating. Harry got up and started walking around his room to stop the shaking in his limbs.

He eventually calmed down enough to climb into bed, too lazy to change out of his clothes. The blankets felt too hot so he kicked them off, opting to sleep sans covers. He questioned the possibility that in the vent he actually fell asleep, his dreams will be plagued with the bright-eyed boy.

Probably.

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks to everyone for reading! i really appreciate the comments and kudos. ill update soon, i promise


	8. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok so wow im so sorry about how long that took to update. hopefully the amount of louisandharry in this chapter makes up for it.
> 
> ill be able to get back to a regular updating schedule soon once i get into the swing of college and whatever

It became a ritual, Harry sneaking out to practice putting and meeting up with Louis. Some nights they hardly spoke to each other and just enjoyed the presence of another human being while Harry practiced and Louis silently watched. Other nights were filled with conversation. Harry learned that Louis had four little sisters, of whom he spoke highly. He’s been friends with Zayn and Liam since they were toddlers splashing around in the club pool with their nannies. His favorite bands are The Fray, The Killers, and Coldplay (all of which Harry liked, which almost surprised him).

It was weird, really, how easily they got along. On the outside, it looks like they had nothing in common. They went to different schools, had different interests, and had very different personalities but something tied them together, something more than physical attraction (although that was definitely part of it, at least for Harry). There was a connection there that Harry would probably never be able to explain. He couldnʼt explain much when it came to Louis, thatʼs why he didnʼt tell anyone about their late night rendezvouses. 

Harry didnʼt know where they stood relationship-wise. ʻMaking-out-on-the-putting-green-at-midnight-every-nightʼ was not a choice on Facebook for relationship statuses, not that Harry ever used his Facebook.

So thatʼs why whenever Harry saw Louis at Oakwood, he tried to act as casually as possible. Louis had dropped the whole asshole act and was now just kind of quiet in comparison to his usual life-of-party self whenever Harry became the focus of the conversation with their friends, which wasnʼt very often, thankfully.

Harry didnʼt quite understand why Louis was so secretive about their relationship, or whatever it was. He knew that Louis wasnʼt ready to come out, that much was a given. After that though, why couldnʼt they act like friends? At first, Harry considered that Louis might be ashamed of him because Harry wasnʼt rich and he didnʼt go to the most prestigious school but Louis was good friends with Niall so that ruled out that idea. Harry had also figured out that Louis wasnʼt as shallow as he initially believed. He remembered Louis telling him a story about a girl he was friends with and his parents didnʼt approve, so he was banned from seeing her.

(“They banned you from seeing her?” Harry asked, aghast, “Why?”

“Well for one thing, they thought we were dating, which we werenʼt, and never will might I add. I donʼt really swing that way,” Louis laughed.

“Why didnʼt they like her?” Harry asked, curiously.

“Well for starters, she was from the other side of town. Her mum was a hair stylist, you see. But I think the biggest problem they had was her hair,” He said.

“Her hair?” Harry furrowed his brow.

“Yeah, it was hot pink- well sometimes- she dyed it a lot- it was lavender for a while too,” Louis explained.

“What was her name?” Harry asked.

“Perrie Edwards,” Harry thought he had heard of her.

“So your parents didnʼt like her because she wasnʼt rich and she dyed her hair?” Harry asked.

“Well, itʼs mostly my dad, my mum doesnʼt really have any of her own opinions, really, or if she does, she doesnʼt voice them,” Louis said with a sad   
simplicity.

“I wonder what theyʼd think of me...” Harry trailed off, a strange kind of melancholy washing over him.

“Hey, donʼt worry about them. Their opinions donʼt matter,” Louis said, pressing a soft kiss into Harryʼs lips.)

Harry still worried.

If Louisʼs parents freaked out about Louis dating someone with the wrong hair color, theyʼd probably freak out more at the thought of Louis dating someone with the wrong genitalia.

Despite this knowledge about Louisʼs family, Harry still felt like he was missing something, like there was something Louis wasnʼt telling him.

He wondered if he would always feel that way about Louis. 

Probably. 

***

One particularly starry night, Louis talked Harry into sitting down and enjoying the night sky, rather than Harry putting. Harry needed to practice but Louis could be very convincing and Harry couldn’t resist him.

They sat and Harry picked at blades of grass while Louis asked him question about golf. “So, youʼre like the best?” Louis asked.

“Erm-no. I mean- Iʼm the top ranked junior golfer in England but thereʼs loads of of other countries and whatever. Iʼm really not that good, I just play in a lot of tournaments so I rack up points that helps with my ranking,” Harry rambled.

“But you win all these tournaments, so that makes you the best?” Louis continued.

“I donʼt win all of them,” Harry refuted.

 Louis raised an eyebrow and gave him a skeptical look.

 “Niall wins some too!” Harry continued.

“Youʼre too modest,” Louis smiled. 

“I disagree,” Harry countered.

 “Hey, Harry?” Louis asked quietly.

“Yeah?”

“Have you ever thought about what you would do if golf didnʼt work out? Like if you go hurt or didnʼt make it professionally or whatever?” Louis asked,   
careful with his wording.

“Um- not really, no,” Harry said, truthfully. Golf had always been his passion.  

“So you have no back-up plan?” Louis pressed.

“Well if I couldnʼt play in tournaments for a living then Iʼd probably be a pro at a club? Or open up a little golf shop or something? I just know that I would want to stick to the sport, canʼt really picture myself doing anything else,” Harry explained.

“But you know you want to focus on golf?” Louis asked. 

“Yeah, definitely,” Harry nodded. 

“Must be nice to know what you want to do,” Louis sighed.

“So, Iʼm taking it that you donʼt know?” Harry asked.

“I havenʼt a clue,” Louis said and bit his lip. 

“You donʼt want to take over the family business?” Harry asked but he already knew the answer.

“Not at all. I guess I do know that. I think I want to travel and see the world or whatever. I need time to figure out what I want,” Louis said.

“I think I can understand that,” Harry said.

“Itʼs fine if you donʼt- a lot of people donʼt. Zayn and Liam donʼt really get it but they try to at least. My dad wouldnʼt even consider the possibility of me not   
coming to work with him after uni,” Louis let out a sigh, “Iʼm eighteen years old and my parents still think they know better than me about what I want.”

Harry thought about that for a second before he realized, “Wait, youʼre eighteen? Shouldnʼt you be going to uni in the fall?”

“I had to repeat a year,” Louis explained.

 “Do you mind if I ask why?” It was none of Harry’s business but he had to ask.

“Not at all. I was being stupid. I was partying too much and I skipped a lot of school. It got to the end of the year when I realized I was actually going to fail   
and by then it was too late,” Louis said, his voice flat.

“Were your parents mad?” Harry asked.

“They were more worried Iʼd get kicked out of school- Oakwood Prep usually doesnʼt let students who fail come back- but they donated a nice sum of cash to the school and they let me stay,” Louis said,

“Well, thatʼs good, I guess,” Harry offered.

Louis shrugged, “Good and bad. Good because I got to stay with my friends. Zayn and Liam were in the year below me anyway so I would be with them. Bad because I deserved to get kicked out. I should have been sent to another school, a less prestigious one, probably a state-funded one.”

“You think they let you off too easy?” Harry asked.

Louis nodded, “When they found out, my parents were furious. Iʼd never seen my dad that angry... but they didnʼt ground me or anything. They just hired me a tutor and acted like that whole year didnʼt happen.”

Louisʼs eyes were locked on the ground, refusing to meet Harryʼs gaze. Harry could tell that Louis wasnʼt being completely transparent with him but heʼd take what he can get. For now, this was enough. He had a feeling that Louis didn’t share this much with people usually.

“Would you have preferred if they had grounded you or taken away your car or something?” Harry asked.

“I would have preferred if they had cared- and about something other than what the neighbors would think,” Louis said, his voice cracking and Harry could see his eyes were glistening. Harry didnʼt know what to do so he just put his arm around Louis. He sank into Harry, resting his head on Harryʼs shoulder.

Rubbing Louisʼs back, Harry said, “I’m really sorry.”

Louis sighed, “It’s fine, really. It’s not like itʼs your fault or anything.”

“Iʼm still sorry,” Harry said, earnestly.

“Donʼt be,” Louis straightened up, “But seriously, enough about my family. Tell me about yours.”

“Erm- what do you want to know?” Harry took his arm away from Louis and rubbed the back of his neck.

“Everything,” Louis said, brightening a little, “Start with your mum.”

“Well, her nameʼs Anne. Sheʼs a receptionist at a law firm,” Harry said.

“Does she like her job?” Louis asked.

“Not particularly- but youʼd never hear her complain,” Harry smiled.

“Are you two close?” Louis asked.

“As close as a teenage boy and his mum can be, I guess,” Harry said.

“Does she know about...?” Louis trailed off.

“You? No. My sexuality? Yes,” Harry explained.

“How did you tell her?” Louis asked, clearly asking for a reason other than pure curiosity.

“Didnʼt really, sheʼs clever- figured it out on her own,” Harry said. He really had no idea when his mom figured out he wasnʼt straight or if sheʼd always known, probably the latter.

“Well, she sounds lovely,” Louis said.

“She is,” Harry agreed.

“What about your sister, what is she like?” Louis continued.

“Gemma? Sheʼs great. She just graduated from uni and sheʼs living in London now- sheʼs working in radio. She shows me most of the music I listen to, actually,” Harry said.

“So sheʼs a hardcore hipster?” Louis laughed.

Harry laughed and shook his head.

“You look up to her though,” It wasn’t a question, just an observation. 

“Yeah, totally. Her and my mum,” Harry agreed.

“Would you say you’re happy?” Louis asked before stopping himself, “I’m sorry- that was- you don’t have to answer- I was just-“

Harry interjected, “Louis-it’s fine. And yeah overall, I’d say I’m happy. I’ve kind of just accepted life the way it is, ya know?”

Louis lip curled up just the slightest.

“What about you?” Harry asked, inwardly kicking himself as the words slipped out of his mouth. 

“Not always but I’m getting there. I am right now, though,” Louis blushed.

“Me too,” Harry said, resting his head on Louis’s shoulder. 

They sat in comfortable silence for a while. Harry listened to Louis’s steady breath, which had a therapeutic effect on him. He was completely relaxed, sitting on the grass, damp with dew.

Louis shifted and Harry sat back up, “I want to meet your family.”

“My family?” Harry questioned, bewildered.

Louis nodded.

“Well, Gemma is visiting this weekend so you could come for dinner Friday if you’d like,” Harry offered, still fairly confused over why Louis would want to meet them.

“Really?” Louis brightened up, “But- I mean obviously, you don’t have to- I didn’t mean to invite myself over or anything.”

“You didn’t invite yourself over,” Harry insisted, “My mum would love to have you.”

“Okay,” Louis smiled, “Cool.”

“Yeah,” Was all Harry said but inside he was screaming. Louis was going to meet his family. Louis wanted to meet his family. Louis was coming to his house for dinner.

Harry tried his best to contain his smile after he kissed Louis goodbye and walked back to his house. Stripping down to his boxers and sliding into his bed,   
Harry’s face was frozen in a permanent grin.

***

The next morning, when Harry went to the kitchen to get breakfast, he tried his best at nonchalance when he asked his mother, “Hey, is it alright if a friend comes over for dinner Friday?”

His mum was far too bright, “What kind of friend? What’s his name?”

“A friendly friend,” Harry sighed, “His name is Louis.”

“Louis who?” His mother inquired.

“Tomlinson,” Harry groaned.

“Wait like-?” Anne’s eyes got wide.

Harry nodded, “Just be normal.”

“I’m always normal,” She crossed her arms.

“Of course you are,” Harry smiled.

“You better mean that or I’m going to tell Louis about the time that you wet your pants twice in one day in grade school and I had to come get you,” Anne threatened.

“You wouldn’t,” Harry said, horrified.

“You and I both know, I totally would,” Anne laughed and Harry shook his head. 

Maybe inviting Louis over was a bad idea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> comments and kudos are pretty rad... just saying


	9. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ive been getting asked about updates and here it is. i meant to get this chapter out 2 weeks ago but college got in the way. better late then never??

Not even the eighteen holes he played that day could keep Harry’s mind off of the fact that Louis Tomlinson was coming over to his house for dinner that night. He played surprisingly well, considering he was a little preoccupied. He still shot well under par. Oakwood’s course was finally familiar to him; it was his home. 

As he lugged his bag back to the staff room, Niall interrupted his thoughts, “So, we hanging tonight?”

“Erm-“ Harry fumbled, “I’ve kinda got- plans.”

Niall looked at him incredulously, “Plans? With who?”

“It’s just- uh- someone’s coming over for dinner,” Harry hoped Niall would let it slide.

He didn’t, “Who? And why aren’t you telling me?”

“Louis’s coming over,” Harry surrendered.

“Louis? As in Louis Tomlinson? Were you planning on telling me this?” Niall said. He wasn’t angry; he was actually chuckling as they shoved their bags into their lockers.

“Yeah- but I’ve gotta get back home to help my mum make dinner so….” Harry trailed off.

“You’re going to have to explain this to me eventually, mate,”

“I will! I’ve just got to go,” Harry promised.

“Alright, well see ya,” Niall opened the door and let Harry through.

“See ya,” Harry said before he added, “Oh and Niall, could you like, not tell anyone? I don’t think he’d want me to-“

Niall cut him off, “I won’t tell anyone. But if you don’t explain it soon I’m going straight to twitter.”

Harry laughed, “Bye Niall.”

“Bye.”

***

When he got home, he entered full-on panic mode. Why the hell would he invite Louis over to his house? What was he thinking? His mum and his sister were absolutely going to do something to humiliate him. There was no doubt about it. And now Niall knows too because Harry couldn’t come up with another reason they couldn’t hang out. Also, meeting the family seems like a really boyfriend-y thing to do and Louis was not his boyfriend.

And yet, Harry was bustling about the kitchen, helping his mother with the preparations.

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you’re nervous,” Anne teased as Harry straightened out the silverware.

“What gave you that-“ Harry was cut off when his elbow accidentally knocked over a glass of water on the table he was setting, “Shit.”

“Language!” Anne shook her head, “Honestly, it’s as if I never tried to teach you manners at all.”

“Did you?” Harry joked, earning himself a playful bonk on the top of his head.

“You better start the quesadillas before Louis arrives,” she pronounced his name with a suggestive tone which Harry chose to ignore, opting instead to grab the frying pan and start up the stovetop. He then gathered up the peppers and the onions and started chopping.

Harry heard the front door open and his heart nearly stopped before he realized that Louis probably wouldn’t just walk in and he heard a feminine voice say, “I’m home!”

“Gemma!” Harry stopped what he was doing and ran to greet his sister. Her hair was lighter than it was last time he saw her and her heels made her almost as tall as he was. 

“Hey loser,” To Gemma, loser was a term of endearment.

“Hey Gem, let me take your bag,” Harry took her overnighter and ran it up to the guestroom, which had been his room before Gemma left for university. He dropped it on the foot of the bed and went back downstairs. He found his sister and his mother already happily chatting away about Gemma’s job and London.

“Oh yeah, it’s going well. My coworkers are awesome,” Gemma was saying as Harry walked up.

“Are their any cute ones?” Anne asked.

“Well, there might be one…” Gemma said, hintingly.

“Have you been on a date?” Anne’s eyes were bright.

“A few but we’re taking it pretty slow- we wouldn’t want to rush into things and make it awkward in the office,” Gemma explained.

“Of course,” Anne nodded.

“What’s his name?” Harry asked.

“Greg,” She said simply.

“Last name?” Harry prodded.

“Why?” Gemma looked at him suspiciously.

“I can’t look him up on Facebook with just a first name. I need to know if this dude’s good enough for my older sister,” Harry said, truthfully.

“Oh yeah, well now I’m definitely not giving it to you. I don’t need my weird little brother freaking him out over the Internet,” Gemma laughed and Harry crossed him arms, pouting.

“Harry stop arguing with your sister and get back to making dinner,” Anne commanded.

“We weren’t arguing,” Harry and Gemma said together.

“Whatever, you’re going to burn the quesadillas,” Anne nodded towards the stove.

“Shit,” Harry muttered and resumed his cooking while his mother went off again about how he shouldn’t swear.

Gemma sat in the kitchen and talked about her work and how she thought she might be getting a promotion soon while Harry bustled around the kitchen only pausing when Gemma stopped midsentence to say she saw a car in the driveway, “And holy shit it’s a range rover. Who is this kid?”

“Louis Tomlinson,” Their mother said and Gemma looked at Harry with wide eyes.

“Seriously, you two better behave or I’m going to move out,” Harry threatened.

“Fine by me,” Gemma said, “I can have my old room back whenever I come visit.”

The doorbell rang before Harry could formulate a response.

“I’ll get it!” Gemma offered but Harry slipped in front of her and grabbed the door before she could.

Harry knew Louis would be standing there when he opened the door but he was left breathless nonetheless. The sun always seemed to hit the older boy perfectly. Even in the dim light of sunset the boy seemed to glow. He was a light of his own in some ways. Maybe Louis was demigod, a son of Apollo. That would explain why Harry always felt warm around him.

“Hey,” Louis said after a moment of Harry staring at him.

“Hey, come in! Sit down. Dinner should be ready any minute,” Harry ushered him in, “This is my house.”

Louis seemed completely transfixed by Harry’s humble abode. He stood fascinated by the door looking around.

“I know it’s not much,” Harry said, lamely.

“I think it’s lovely,” Louis said honestly and at that moment, Gemma and Anne appeared.

“You must be Louis,” Gemma said, extending a hand for him to shake, “I’m Harry’s sister, Gemma. I’ve heard loads about you.”

Harry could feel his cheeks redden, “No she hasn’t.”

“Sure, Harry,” Gemma said sarcastically and winked at Louis who beamed.

“So you must be Ms.-“ Louis held out his hand towards Anne.

“Cox- but please call me Anne,” Anne insisted, shaking his hand.

“Well, Anne, your home is beautiful,” Louis said, causing Anne to blush.

“Thank you, dear. I’m going to go put the finishing touches on dinner and then we can eat,” Harry could already tell his mother had taken a liking to Louis. The boy could be charming when he wanted to be. 

“I’ll grab drinks. You two go ahead and sit down,” Gemma gestured towards the table and Harry and Louis sat.

Once she was gone Harry whispered, “I’m just going to go ahead and apologize for everything that’s bound to happen when my mum and sister are around.”

“I think they’re awesome. Seriously, don’t worry,” Louis assured him.

Gemma then returned, pouring drinks for all of them and sitting down, “So Louis, how do you know Harry?”

Harry panicked momentarily but it proved unnecessary when Louis casually replied, “We met at the beginning of summer at Oakwood. We were hanging out at the pool with Niall and some other lads.”

That wasn’t even a lie.

Gemma nodded, “So what made you want to hang out with my lame brother?”

Louis smiled and opened his mouth to answer but was interrupted when Anne came in with dinner, “Louis, darling, I hope you don’t mind but we usually just eat family-style. Please help yourself.”

“No this is perfect,” Louis assured her, “It smells amazing, by the way.”

“Well, you can thank Harry for that. He did most of the cooking,” Anne said and Harry blushed.

“Is that a common occurrence?” Louis grabbed a quesadilla and passed the plate to Harry.

“I mean- I cook a lot- yeah,” Harry said, piling food onto his plate.

“He cooks almost every night. He’s the perfect housewife,” Gemma explained to Louis.

“Duly noted,” Louis said and winked at Harry, which somehow went unnoticed by Harry’s family. He took his first bite and his eyes grew wide, “Harry, this is quite possibly the best quesadilla I’ve ever tasted and I’ve been to Mexico.”

Harry’s cheeks burned, “I doubt that.”

“No really! I went for spring break a few years back,” Louis said.

“No, I meant that I doubt that there weren’t better quesadillas in Mexico,” Harry said even though Louis was clearly preoccupied by his dinner. Louis had perfect table manners, well, of course he did. He probably had this kind of thing drilled into his mind as a child eating a major benefit dinners with his parents. He was incredible with Harry’s family. He could carry on a conversation with Anne as if they had known each other for years. Harry was fairly certain Gemma was ready to invite him to join the family despite her previous caution over the infamous boy. They would have to have a talk later but he knew that Louis had already won her over. 

After dinner they decided to play monopoly. Louis was far better than Harry and he actually put up a fight against Gemma, which no one ever did when they played with just the family. Harry and Anne watched as the two battled it out and when Gemma finally triumphed they cheered. 

“We should celebrate with ice cream,” Anne suggested.

Everyone nodded eagerly in agreement. They each fixed themselves bowls and sat around the table, eating and relishing over the fact that they actually finished the never ending game.

After they had sat around the table for much longer than necessary, Louis checked his watch, “Well I’d hate to do this but I told my parents I’d be back by eleven.”

“Oh- don’t be silly dear. Of course we understand,” Anne assured him.

“The meal was absolutely incredible and I had a blast.Thank you so much for having me” Louis said, standing up, “Where would you like me to put the dishes?”

“Oh don’t worry about those!” Anne said, “I’ll get them.”

“Are you sure?” Louis asked, leaning in to grab his bowl.

“No, go ahead. Harry could you see him out?” Anne asked, standing up and grabbing the bowls.

“Yeah,” Harry led Louis back to the front door were they stopped for a second, “So did my family scare you off?”

“No, they were amazing actually. You’re never getting rid of me now,” Louis had no idea how nice that thought was to Harry.

“Even though Gemma beat you?” Harry teased.

“She could have physically beaten me with a crowbar and I’d still want to spend time with you,” Louis said, simply.

Harry tried to formulate a response but Louis cut him off with his lips before he could mutter a word. This kiss was chaste, just a quick peck, but it left Harry’s heart racing.

“See you tomorrow Harry,” Louis whispered and disappeared behind the door.

Harry stood there for a few seconds before realizing his mother probably wanted him to help clean up. When he got back to the kitchen, though, they were already done.

“Oh, there you are,” His mother said when she noticed his presence, “Louis is great. You should invite him back sometime soon, okay?”

“Okay,” Harry agreed. She went to bed, leaving Harry with Gemma, who seemed far to eager to talk to him.

“Louis Tomlinson,” was all she said once their mother was safely out of earshot.

“Yes,” Harry said lamely.

“You’re dating Louis Tomlinson,” She stated.

“No! I mean I’m pretty sure I’m not,” Harry said.

“What do you mean you’re ‘pretty sure you’re not’? He just met the family!” Gemma shook her head.

“It’s complicated,” Harry shrugged.

“Well, whatever ever it is you two are, he’s hanging out with you and spending time with you,” Gemma said.

“Yeah, and?” Harry asked.

“And I’ve heard stories about that boy! Parties and drugs and whatever. He’s a socialite- and his family could probably afford to buy the entire city of London. How the hell did you two become friends?” Gemma looked at him inquisitively. 

“We met at Oakwood. I work there. He belongs there,” Harry said.

“I know that! I meant what do you have in common? Why are you close enough for him to come over for dinner?” 

Harry didn’t have the energy for Gemma’s interrogation at the moment, “Look, Gems, I ask myself those same questions every day. I don’t know why we get along so well. We just do. I don’t know how we got to know each other. It just kind of happened.”

“What about the drugs and parties and stuff?” Gemma wasn’t going to let that go.

“He’s not into that stuff anymore. Well, at least the drugs…” Harry trailed off.

“Harry!” Gemma shook her head.

“Don’t worry about it,” Harry assured her.

“But-“ She protested.

“Gemma, I can handle this. I make pretty reasonable decisions,” Harry said and Gemma accepted it because it was true. Harry had never gotten himself into a bad situation before, at least to her knowledge. 

“Fine- but if that boy gets you arrested, I’m not bailing you out of jail,” Gemma told him.

“That won’t be an issue,” Harry laughed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks to everyone whos been reading and leaving comments and kudos. its much appreciated :)

**Author's Note:**

> Feedback is welcome :)


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